Philosophical: Mackenzie gets in some rare track time in Italy
Mackenzie Taylor was philosophical after failing to turn his brilliant performance at the previous round of the Winning Series Karting Championship into another victory at Lonato in Italy at the weekend.
The Ashford teenager had won both finals at the second round of the Winning Series Karting Championship in France last month, and had travelled to the Italian circuit in confident mood.
Saturday started well for the Sunbury Manor school pupil, when he recorded the fifth-fastest time in his group during qualifying and finished fifth in his first heat.
That's when it all went wrong.
In his next heat, Mackenzie's motor seized, so he didn't finish the race. Two accidents subsequently put him out of his third and fourth races, leaving the 15-year old in last place on the grid for the last-chance recupero race - with only the top six drivers qualifying for the pre and main finals.
"It was always going to be a longshot but I was prepared to give it a good go," he said.
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As the field rolled on to the circuit to start the race, some drivers struggled to get their karts going and dropped out of their original starting positions.
Mackenzie said: "In karting, we don't start like Formula One carso - from a standing start.
"We do rolling starts, so you have a lap to form up.
"At Lonato, there's a red line on the circuit and, if you're not in your grid position once you've crossed it, you cannot take up your original place.
"As we came on to the start/finish straight and accelerated towards the lights, another driver drove over the back of me trying to get into his grid position."
The accident bent Mackenzie's radiator at a 45-degree angle and, not surprisingly, his motor started to overheat, forcing him to retire rather than blow another engine up.
RFM team boss Ricky Flynn summed up Mackenzie's luck: "If a satellite had fallen out of the sky, it would have hit him."
Mackenzie added: "These things happen in racing and there is no point dwelling on them.
"You just have to make sure it doesn't happen again. In the warm-up and heats on Sunday, I was one of the fastest drivers - so that's a positive.
"I am also looking forward to this weekend's Super 1 race at PFi (in Lincolnshire) and am optimistic that we can do well there."
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